Chapter Five
“You’re pregnant?” Pea asked.
Mel entered their home, flicking on the lights. She glanced at the clock as it was blinking with no time showing.
Checking her cell phone’s time, she went to the clock and began to change it for the right time. After that, she walked through to all the electrical clocks with Pea following behind her.
“Yes, I’m pregnant.”
“And you think starting a fight was a good thing.”
She whirled around. “That bitch is fucking crazy. She came at me, and was going to slap me. I defended myself, and you know what? I got pissed. Being pregnant your emotions go haywire. Instead of standing there crying, I got mad, I got angry, and I lashed out.” She played with buttons, beginning to lose her temper. Why did she think for a second it was a good idea to put digital, electrical powered clocks in rooms? She’d change them.
Once she’d done the hallway, sitting room, and dining room, she entered the kitchen, and growled. The stove’s clock was glowing.
Refusing to do that one, she opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and a beer. She opened the beer for Pea, and took the water for herself.
The last place she wanted to have this conversation was her kitchen. She’d spent the entire day making it sparkle, finding dust everywhere.
According to Penny, she was nesting as if she was some kind of animal as she cleaned up her home.
“You’re getting ready for the baby to come.”
“Mel, you’re not listening to me.”
“I know. I zoned out when you started talking about the fact I shouldn’t have been fighting. Did you want me to just stand there while she hit me, huh? Would that have made you feel better?”
“Of course it fucking wouldn’t. Tara’s crazy.”
“Yeah, and she’s pissed that you won’t go back and use her skank pussy.”
“Are we going to do this now? I’ve not touched her since I told you I wanted to be exclusive with you,” he said.
She turned on the stairs and glared at him. “I wasn’t getting at that, Pea. Believe it or not, I actually trust you. You said to me that you’re not fucking every girl that walks by. I believe you. Over the years, one of the things I’ve noticed about you is the fact you keep your word. You’re loyal. Others don’t see that, and you try to hide it from them as if it’s some kind of deadly secret. I get it, Pea. You want to be with me just like I want to be with you. We’re good together.”
“We’re more than fucking good together, and you know it, Mel. We’ve made this marriage work when no one else thought it was possible.”
No one knew that Pea had offered to be exclusive first. That was her secret. He’d told her that he’d loved variety in his life, but he was ready to commit to her.
All along, she’d been the one who hadn’t wanted that.
Pea had taken the blame as if all of this had been his idea. It hadn’t been.
When he’d offered marriage, she’d thought he was joking. He hadn’t been, and then she didn’t want to be one of those women waiting at home for her husband, so she’d told him what she wanted, and he’d said if that was what she wished, fine.
Moving toward their room, she stood in the center, looking at their bed. The reality of everything came crashing down around her. As she sat on the edge of the bed, tears filled her eyes. They weren’t fake. She was afraid.
Wrapping her arms around her body, she stared up at him. “It’s yours if that was what you were curious about.”
Pea went straight for her. He climbed on the bed so that he was behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close.
“I wasn’t going to ask you anything like that. I know that kid is mine. You wouldn’t have kept it a secret, and told me straight away. You’re not like that, Mel. I know you, and I know you’ve not been with anyone else for a long time.”
The tears fell. “We are so fucked up.”
“We’re not. I think we’re quite normal.”
“Tonight I went completely crazy on one of your exes, Pea. That’s not normal.”
“I did the same on the guy that thought he could put a hand on you.” Councilman Wallace had wanted her to leave her husband. He’d been the last man she was with. The thought of leaving Pea had scared her. She loved Pea, and that had given her cause to think about the past few years.
She’d put this divide between them. They’d been married and seeing other people, and it had been all her fault.
“Is that why you’ve been looking pale and sick? You’ve stopped your coffee, and your wine?” he asked, kissing her neck.
“Yes. The scent of coffee drives me nuts. It sends me to the toilet faster than anything. I hate salted crackers, but they’re the only things that keep my stomach at bay.”
He chuckled. “I saw my stash of salted crackers had been raided.”
“I was going to replace them when I went to the store. I hate shopping.”
“That’s not like a woman to hate shopping. I think I need to get a doctor to examine your head. Clearly something is wrong.”
“Yeah, it’s wrong, all right. I’m weird. That’s the problem.”
He kissed her head, and his fingers teased over her stomach. “That explains the sore tits, and why you tensed up whenever I kissed your stomach.”
“I was worried that if you found out, you’d be angry.”
“Why would I be angry?”
“We’ve been married a long time, but we’ve never talked about kids, Pea. This is really alarming news.”
She heard him sigh. He didn’t let her go. “It’s not alarming news. We’re going to have to babyproof this place. I’ll make some adjustments to the spare bedroom, and we can begin planning a nursery. I’ll get a crib for the days we spend at the clubhouse. All of these changes are minimal. You’re not alone in this.”
Tears fell down her cheeks, and she glanced down at his hands, holding her stomach. “What if I’m a bad mother? What if I screw up and our kid becomes a murderer, or I’m too selfish? I nearly destroyed my relationship with Penny. We’re talking about a baby, Pea. An innocent little life.”
He held her even tighter, and then suddenly, he moved.
She watched through blurry vision as he removed his leather cut, and began to strip down naked.
Pea didn’t say anything, and neither did she, waiting for him to do whatever he was going to do. He left the bedroom, and next she heard the bath water running. Seconds later he came back as the bath was filling. He took her hands, and stripped off her clothes, getting her naked.
He knelt down on the ground, and watched as he placed a hand over her stomach, pressing a kiss to it.
No words were spoken as he stood up, and took her back toward the bathroom. The tears had stopped, and he climbed into the tub, still holding her hand as he waited for her to join him.
She sat down, and he was at her back.
“I read in one of those fancy magazines you like to read that a nice warm bath is similar to chocolate or flowers,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “You’ve got a bruise on your face from Tara hitting you, and there’s a scratch.”
She reached up to touch her face.
“Don’t worry about it. It makes you look like a badass bitch. When our kid goes to school, keep the bitch fighting to a minimum. I don’t want anyone thinking that I’m beating you in my spare time.”
Mel burst out laughing. The idea of Pea hitting her was ridiculous. He’d never hurt her. It made it even harder for her because she’d hit him, and she hated that she had.
“What’s going to happen to Tara?” she asked.
“Her ass is going to get kicked out of the club. No one wants her, least of all me. She was causing trouble.” He took her hand, locking their fingers together.
“We’re going to be parents, Pea.”
“I know. I don’t know if I should feel sorry for the kid, or tell him or her that they’re in for a treat.”
She glanced up at him. “You think we’re going to be good parents?”
“I don’t know why you think we won’t be. You’ve got this notion that we’re bad people.”
“Our marriage—”
“Is the way we wanted it to be. I don’t give a fuck what anyone else says. It’s none of their business.”
“Why did you always take the blame for the way we were? You never told Penny that you were willing to be faithful.”
“Don’t make me sound like a hero, Mel. I’m not. Why tell your sister what she’d never understand? That’s the difference. We get each other. I’m not a saint, baby. I’m a sinner. Always have been, always will be. The difference is, I’ll be sinning with you for the rest of our lives. You’re going to be an amazing mom. I just know it. Our kid will hate you at times, but that’s kids in general. We’ll go from being the most loved to the most hated.”
“It sounds like we’re going to be in for a crazy ride.”
“We’ll handle it together, just like we have everything else.”
****
He was going to be a daddy.
Pea couldn’t get his head around that kind of shit. He was going to be a father. Mel had long since fallen asleep, and he stared at her sleeping face. Her head was resting on his arm. Her mouth was open a little, and her hands were on her stomach. There was no sign of her pregnancy yet, but there would be.
He knew there would.
Placing a hand over hers, he marveled at what the possibilities were.
For a long time, they’d been together now. They spent holidays together, and vacations.
On the day of their wedding, he could still see her smiling face as she walked down the aisle. Some of the club whores had been pissed that an outsider had taken one of the club. To him, Mel wasn’t an outsider. She’d intrigued him for a long time. The first time he’d seen her at the club having a good time, she’d captivated him.
She’d been in the middle of the dance floor, oblivious to the stares as she danced with abandon.
Out of all of the women, she’d not been begging for attention. Her gaze hadn’t lingered on a single brother or old lady. She wasn’t trying to worm her way into the club on the good graces of anyone else.
All Mel had been trying to do was have a good time. A really good time.
After watching her dance for an hour straight, his cock had been so fucking hard that he’d not been able to resist. He’d gone right up to her and banded his arm around her waist.
She didn’t put up a fight. Instead, she’d laughed as he’d dry humped her ass, and she’d wriggled against him.
The sex that night had been the best of his life.
From that moment on, he was always on the lookout for Mel. Whenever she turned up, he’d make sure he was the brother by her side. The night would end with her in his bed, with him fucking her harder than ever before.
He wanted to make her remember him. When she was with another man, he wanted them to fall short when compared with him.
Then of course, he’d found out the truth about Mel. She’d become guardian to her sister after her parents died.
For a long time, he’d tried not to be that kind of guy who followed his girl around, panting after her. Neither of them was committed to the other, but after nearly two weeks of not seeing her, he’d caved.
She hadn’t answered the door when he knocked, and he went back in time to the moment his life changed forever.
****
Several years ago.
“Mel, the door’s open,” he said.
Pea hated that he was here, trying to figure out if everything was okay with Mel. He’d not seen her for two weeks at the club, and he missed her.
It was crazy really. Neither of them knew a whole lot about each other, but he did miss her.
At the sound of sobbing, he stopped.
Crying women were not a good thing. Tears were not something he liked to deal with.
He didn’t walk back.
He found Mel on the floor of the sitting room. Paperwork was on the floor in large piles. It didn’t take a genius to recognize the bills that were there. So many of them.
She didn’t even look up at him as she sorted through them.
The tears were dropping onto the paperwork, and she was distressed. He couldn’t stand it.
“Mel,” he said.
She gasped, turning to look at him. Her hands moved to wipe the tears off her face. “What are you doing here?”
“You’ve not been by the club in some time. I was worried, and I thought I’d check on you.” He stepped into the room, and she threw her hands up.
“No, I’m fine. I may be at a party this weekend. I’ve just got a lot of things to organize first. That’s all.”
“This looks like more than a lot. What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing that I can’t handle. I can do this, and help Penny with her math homework, along with keeping a nice home, because that’s what Social Services wants. Well-adjusted people who don’t party, or drink, or have fun. They like throwing words around like failure, debt, unstable, broken home, damage. Have you ever noticed that?” she asked, rambling on. She was on her knees in the middle of the room, looking at him.
He noticed she wasn’t dressed in any sexy clothing. She wore black pants and a plain white shirt that had a name tag on.
“You work at the mall?”
“Yep. I work at the mall. Good caretakers have jobs.”
“Mel, what’s going on?”
She sat back, running fingers through her hair. “My sister is nearly eighteen years old, and I’ve been doing a great job in trying to keep this roof over her head. The debts though, I can’t make sense of them. I have interest coming out of my eyeballs. My parents’ funeral, medical bills just to pronounce them dead. If someone dies in a hospital, funds should cease because they didn’t do their job. They failed, and right now I can’t be that woman at the club. Right now, I’m responsible, so you can leave and find someone else to have a fun time with.”
Pea watched as she looked around at the mess, and he couldn’t take it.
He took over. Grabbing up the stack of paperwork, he ordered her to the kitchen to make him a coffee as he sat at the dining room table with a notepad and a calculator. Ignoring Mel, he went through each piece of paperwork until he was done, and Mel was wringing her hands.
Telling her the figure didn’t help her. She looked ready to crack. “I’ve screwed up. They’re going to take my parents’ home, and I’ve failed my sister.”
He pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her neck. She smelled so good, and felt amazing in his arms. “You could marry me.”
She jerked back, and looked at him. “Marry you?”
“Yeah, you could marry me, and I could help you solve all of these problems.”
“But you don’t want to marry me.”
He shrugged. “I don’t want to see you upset or feeling like a failure. This is a lot to take in, and I can help. I’ve got the money to help. It’s all yours.”
****
Mel hadn’t answered him that day. For a week, she had taken her time to think it over and decide what they were going to do.
All Pea had wanted to do was to help her.
She’d agreed to be his wife, but on the basis that she didn’t trap him in marriage. He was free to fuck who he wanted, and so was she. They’d been younger, and he’d been more than willing to do whatever she wanted.
He had a ring on her finger, and in the past few years he’d grown closer to her.
Staring into her face, Pea knew he’d do anything for this woman. No matter what, he’d protect her.
From the moment he’d seen her on the dance floor that first time until now, he’d fallen for her. Each second spent with her never felt enough, not to him. They were the best of friends, and she really was the love of his life.
Soon she’d be the mother of his kid.
He loved her.
Wow!
He knew he did, but staring at her, he felt those words more than ever before. To many, they wouldn’t believe their relationship, but he didn’t give a fuck.
She opened her eyes and smiled. “Have you been watching me sleep?”
“Yeah, I have.”
The sound of her chuckle brought a smile to his lips. “That’s not creepy at all.”
“Of course not.” He pulled her tighter against him, knowing there was no way he’d ever let her go.